Allison Franks (Hobbit.Town Jewelry)

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Easter! Hope you are having a great day. So far I've been enjoying myself relaxing around the house and drinking a few very yummy IPA's with my fella. Couldn't ask for a better day. ;)

Just remember to keep your children safe and BEWARE THE BUNNY! He does NOT like it when you steal his eggs. (hehe)

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Hey everybody! Welcome to the second installment of Saturday Shout Outs. This week I'd like to talk to you about two awesome etsy shops I recently found and purchased from: Psycho Puppy & Lucifurious.

First up is Psycho Puppy. I found this shop by complete accident a few weeks ago in my news feed. I can't remember who, but someone in my circle favorited a bunch of neat looking trinkets from this shop so I decided to check it out for myself and see what it was all about. And boy am I glad I did! Psycho Puppy specializes in small trinkets such as pocket mirrors, magnets, pill boxes & keychains. Her designs tend to be horror themed and very strange although there are a few cutesy ones thrown in the mix too. And she can pretty much use any image you'd like and apply it to all of her products which I think is extra cool. While small trinkets tend to be spontaneous and infrequent purchases for me, I just couldn't say no to this amazing pill box!

Isn't is awesome??? I'm hoping these creepy bunnies will help force me to take my vitamins. I'm absolutely TERRIBLE at that! But...I wouldn't wanna double cross these fierce little fuzzy wuzzies. Just looking at them makes me feel guilty about not leading a healthier lifestyle! (haha) So I guess that means it's working? I dunno... we'll see. I've yet to take any thus far. Vitamins are silly anyways, right? But I'm glad I have this little trinket. And who knows it may come in handy if I ever become a prescription pill popper! (hahaha).

Next up is...

Do you like kawaii themed accessories and fake food?? Then Lucifurious is just the shop you've been looking for. Filled with an alarming amount of "wicked cute stuff", Lucifurious carries everything from polymer clay jewelry to wallets to cell phone charms. And her iPhone cases are to die for! But as soon as I saw this little beauty.. I knew what had to be done.

This ring is EXTREMELY unpractical and crazy monstrous compared to my tiny fingers...but I just couldn't help myself. I mean look at it! It's an eyeball on a cupcake fer' chrissakes!! How could I say no to that?

Here's a picture of me modeling it...

See what I mean? It takes over my whole hand! But I don't care. It's amazing and I'm totally in love with it. I'm crazy for eyeballs... does that make me a weird person? Oh well. I don't care! Say what you will. I'm going to wear the crap out of this and secretly hate myself when it compromises my mobility (haha).

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Today I'd like to talk about a dear friend of mine Kristin Frenzel. We've known each other for a little over 10 years now and the entire time I've known her art has clearly been her calling. She's experimented with many different mediums and styles, but I think she's finally found her niche in nerd culture. Right now she is the current owner of two amazing etsy shops: Illuminated Lion & Ckrickett.

Illuminated Lion is her newest shop (just over a year old) where she and her fella Jonathan West make high quality etched glassware. All their items are unique, durable AND dishwasher safe! So if you are like me and tend to be careless about keeping up with things you don't have anything to fear. Just don't drop them. Glass is breakable you know. ;)

What I like most about Illuminated Lion is it's diversity in items! She has everything from dinosaurs to Twin Peaks to cats in space on shot glasses, pints, goblets and more. And custom orders are always welcome too! So if you were wondering how to fix your boring kitchenware situation then Illuminated Lion is the shop for you!

And lucky for me we're friends so I get special treatment and stuff! Here's me with my awesome Sailor Moon & Zelda pint glasses that she gave me for xmas last year. ;)

Moving on.....

Her other shop Ckrickett is where she sells her super unique artwork. Recently, she's been experimenting with a lot of new mediums too! Before she primarily sold original artwork and prints, but now she carries buttons, stickers, aprons, handbags, pocket mirrors and stationary as well! She primarily uses acrylics in her work, but she also has several super cute hand-drawn pieces for sale as well. I love all of it! Between the nerdy mash-ups, cute little critters and awesome handiwork I'm left drooling over all of them. Each one is just so unique! I never know what she's going to come up with next and I'm always excited to see what she's working on.

Here's me with my super awesome Skeleton Bat painting:

Oooo and here's some super adorable plushies that she made me awhile back. One's a squid and the other is a lamprey eel! Aren't they cute??

Just a few months ago, I had a friend come over and say that my little squid plushie was the weirdest thing in my entire house. Which I find HILARIOUS because my house is filled with super creepy dolls, zombies and other bizarre items. I find my little squid to be quite charming so I don't know what his problem was. Perhaps it was because she's sitting on my dinner table? (haha)

Anyways, I hope that you've enjoyed this little post and that you check out my friend Kristin's amazing art! I'm so insanely proud of her and everywhere she's gotten with all of this. To the future! May it be full of many more wacky creations by Kristin Frenzel. And here's hoping for like a bazillion more sales! ;)

Monday, March 25, 2013

Hey everybody!
I am very pleased to announce that I have been asked to participate in the upcoming RAW Artist's Event on April 18th. However, in order for me to participate I need to raise $300 between now and April 15th!! I really, really hope I can attend this event because not only would it be fun, but it'd be a great opportunity for me to get my work noticed in the Austin scene AND be featured all across the city via live broadcast, video interviews, photo showcases etc. I just don't have $300... :(

So! I'm hoping that all of you can help me out. I am currently accepting donations via regular mail or paypal. Even if it's not much.. every $1 counts right now! And if you are willing to help me out I promise you will be rewarded in return. I am offering two amazing offers right now.
Read below for more details:

1. Between now and April 15th IF you purchase $15 or more in my etsy shop [hobbit.town jewelry] you will receive a FREE gift of equal value AND a coupon for 25% off your next purchase!! Just put "RAWARTISTS" in the comment box of your invoice.

Tickets are $15 a piece. Just make sure that you have "hobbit.town jewelry" selected as your supporting artist. If you purchase a ticket please let me know via etsy or facebook and I will send you a special goodie bag for FREE!

I thank you all in advance for helping to support my art! Please help me spread the news and share this information any way you can. It would be greatly appreciated!!
Find out more about RAW artists here: RAW Austin Organization

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Welcome to the first installment of Saturday Shout Outs!! From now on, every weekend I'm going to talk about 1 or 2 etsy stores that I'm really digging, have bought from, and/or highly recommend you check out. There are just TOO many cool things on etsy so I feel compelled to show you! Seriously, I feel like etsy gets all my money. But at least I feel refreshed knowing that I'm supporting unique artisans and their crafts. If only I won the lottery....

Oh my gosh this shop is cute! Weeabootique specializes in pixel art style jewelry made of perler beads. You know...those little things you used to play with as a kid?? Well she's actually made them look super awesome! I know when I tried as a 5 year old my stuff always came out looking a little deformed... (haha). But her stuff is so super cute and original.

I actually bought this fantastic Sailor Moon Wand necklace from her a few months back. Isn't it gorgeous??

I'll admit.. it's quite flashy! This necklace is like 6 1/2" long so it doesn't get worn as much as I'd like just because of size. But it's super cute and looks great with halter tops and other boob flashing garments. ;)

This necklace is on the larger side compared to most of her other pieces, but I just HAD to have it!! And it's only $10!! I was simply blown away by the detail and super cuteness of this item and can't wait to purchase from her again. But it's going to be hard to decide! She's got Batman, Pokemon, My Little Pony and Eyeballs too! It's like a kawaii lolita fun house in there. Ahh! I want it all.

I first found out about this shop on etsy, but am happy to see that this shop is finally taking off! I recently found some pieces of there's for sale on some larger online clothing sites (such as the much beloved ModCloth) so that's awesome!! Congrats to Fables By Barrie. Their clothing is definitely something to rave about and I'm glad to see it's finally catching people's attention.

Fables By Barrie specializes in pin-up girl style clothing. They make some gorgeous bathing suits and rompers too! I have yet to buy a bathing suit.. but I've had my eye's on this one for awhile now! Ugh so dreamy.

Honestly I can't decide which I like more.. the one pieces or the two pieces! They are both very feminine and flattering and I love that ALL sizes are carried. That's right, it's customizable so plus sizes girls you can take part in the fun too! ;)

Their stuff is a bit pricy (about $60 and up!) so I've only been able to afford one piece so far. But I hope to by many more things in the future. The nautical dress I bought fits like a dream! It's very flattering, super good quality, stretchy and soft, and most importantly extremely comfortable! Here's my favorite picture of me wearing it... with Lloyd Kaufman!

Friday, March 15, 2013

Today, I'd like to talk to you about this amazing new etsy shop I happened to come across a few weeks ago called Biohazard Babies. Man, if you love creepy dolls even just a fraction of how much I do you really need to check this shop out! Veronica creates unique and captivating art dolls out of rescued baby dolls from thrift stores. As she puts it, "BiohazardBabies are created with infectious love. I combine glamour and
gore in a unique way with paint and clothing" by giving them a "second 'undead' life." How cool is that?

What I love most about my first purchase from Biohazard Babies is that she included a lengthy hand-written note about hers dolls and the creative inspiration behind the ones I purchased. It was so personal and sweet! It made me smile when she said, "like all of us these ladies are decomposing slowly". And it was so cute when she talked about her aunt who talks to a framed photo of Elvis, which inspired her to create a framed photo of Sid Haig for my Captain Spaulding dolly to gaze at. ;)

All in all, I gotta say these dolls are beyond belief! They were both extremely well-constructed, hand-painted specimens. She even crocheted their clothes! Every little detail was made with love and that's what makes them so special. I don't even know this woman, but so much of herself seems to be expressed in these fantastic dolls. I will always think of her when I see them.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Market season is finally here! And last weekend I went to my very first market of the year. It was a blast! And I can't wait to participate in more events like this. So if you live near Canyon Lake, TX you should come check out my booth next
month! The Canyon Lake Trade days fall on the 2nd Saturday of every
month and will be going on until October. I plan to attend them all if I'm able. And hopefully next time the weather won't be so yucky! We still had some traffic, but many of the events activities were cancelled due to the stormy weather outside. My booth was thankfully inside so I wasn't affected much by this... but I was subjected to some atrocious music. I swear I've never heard anything so awful before! It's true. No words can properly re-capture those ear-wrenching accordion sounds paired with the same five guitar chords over and over again. I swear I almost pulled my hair out. Thankfully, those guys will NOT be returning next month (haha).

Sadly, I wasn't able to take but a few pictures of my booth before the show started. But you'll still be able to get the gist of things. Hopefully, next time I won't have to rock it solo. It certainly made potty breaks and eating difficult! But I did meet some very cool fellow artisans in the process. Yay for new friends!

Next time around I hope to have a snazzier set up. I just didn't have a lot of time to get things together AND accomplish everything I set out for. I was happy that I was able to create this awesome jewelry display before the event though! Seriously, it's the best one I've ever made. And I can't wait to make more. ;)

Friday, March 1, 2013

Guess what? Spring is finally here! And do you know what that means?? Market season! Heck yeah!
Starting this month I will be participating in several indoor/outdoor markets, festivals, and shows here in Texas. And I don't know about you, but I'm excited!

I will be bringing different items to each of these events too! Which means I'm making/creating items for each specific event that are one of a kind and have never been featured on my website. So if you live nearby you should come check out my booth and feast your eyes on all my goodies.

This is my "tentative" schedule at the moment. However, I promise to keep you all updated as more dates/events are added to the list. Wish me luck!

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About Me

Hi there! My name is Allison Franks and I'm a craftoholic. (No, seriously)
I live for art, adventure, comics, and travel. But most of all I'm hopelessly addicted to creating totally bizarre jewelry that'll make people turn around and say, "Are those babies in frying pans on your ears?".
So I guess you could say I'm a 20-something small business owner living in Austin,TX with a BA in Anthropology. And I guess you could say I'm quite happy about that. But all that really matters is that I'm having the time of my life just being me!
If you'd like to learn more about me please add me as a friend! -
www.hobbittownjewelry.etsy.com www.facebook.com/hobbittown.jewelry